This invention relates to a device for supplying electrical power to an aircraft and for electrically starting a jet engine on board an aircraft, including a multi-phased starter-generator, a multi-phased transformer-rectifier unit, a multi-phased dc-ac converter, a multi-phased rectifier unit, and at least one three-phase inverter, wherein the number of phases is equal to or greater than 5.
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1. A device for supplying electrical power to an aircraft and for electrically starting a jet engine on board an aircraft, including a multi-phased starter-generator, a multi-phased transformer-rectifier unit, a multi-phased dc-ac converter, a multi-phased rectifier unit, and at least one three-phase inverter, wherein the number of phases of the multi-phased starter-generator, the multi-phased transformer-rectifier, the multi-phased dc-ac converter, and the multi-phased rectifier is equal to or greater than 5,
wherein the dc-ac converter is a five-phase power-reversible inverter that can operate as a voltage inverter and rectifier.
12. A device for supplying electrical power to an aircraft and for electrically starting a jet engine on board an aircraft, said device comprising:
a multiphase ac distribution bar,
an ac distribution bus,
a first dc distribution bar,
a second dc distribution bar connected to the first dc distribution bar through a transfer contactor,
a dc distribution bus,
a multiphase starter-generator whose outputs are connected to the multiphase ac distribution bar through a contactor,
a multiphase rectifier unit whose inputs are connected to the multiphase ac distribution bar and whose outputs are connected to the second dc distribution bar,
a multiphase power-reversible converter connected on one side to the first dc distribution bar and on the other side to a compressor engine through a contactor,
a three-phase inverter connected on one side to the first dc distribution bar and on the other side to the ac distribution bus through a contactor,
wherein the number of phases of the multiphase starter-generator, the multiphase rectifier unit the multiphase transformer-rectifier unit, and the multiphase power-reversible converter, is equal to or greater than 5.
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This invention relates to a device for supplying electrical power to an aircraft and for electrically starting a jet engine on board an aircraft.
Below, in order to simplify the description, we will consider, by way of example, an airplane-type aircraft.
Most commercial airplanes include an on-board pneumatic system for starting their jet engines. An auxiliary power unit (APU) can indeed be used to produce compressed air that is routed to the pneumatic starting engines coupled to these jet engines. In each jet engine, the pressurised air serves to drive the turbine to a sufficient speed in order to enable the fuel injection and ignition. The jet engine then starts and becomes autonomous.
The term “jet engine” used above refers to both a jet engine designed to provide the thrust of the aircraft and an APU-type (auxiliary power unit) jet engine that makes it possible to supply power on board the aircraft when it is on the ground.
To provide air conditioning inside the airplane cabin, warm air is taken from the jet engine and mixed with outside air in order to reach a set point temperature. In addition, the movements of various airplane wing area surfaces are performed by means of servo controls powered by a hydraulic distribution network often pressurised by pumps driven by the jet engines.
The pneumatic starting and air conditioning system requires the installation of air conduits of large diameter leading to the fuselage, the wings, the struts and the engine nacelles of the airplane. This leads to disadvantages associated with the installation, the duration of assembly and the loss of performance of the jet engine associated with the uptake of air, which could be used for the thrust.
A solution enabling such disadvantages to be overcome consists of partially or completely replacing the pneumatic systems with systems using electrical energy. Such a solution has numerous advantages in terms of flexibility of use. Thus, if we eliminate the uptake of air on the engines (so-called “bleedless” airplane), the starting can be performed electrically by using the main electrical generators of the airplane in engine mode. The air conditioning can then be provided by the compression of air taken directly from outside of the airplane by means of electrical compressors. The various airplane wing surface areas can be moved by means of electro-hydraulic actuators (EHA), which are electrically powered (AC or DC network), and which locally produce a hydraulic pressure by the association of an electrical engine and a hydraulic pump. Such a solution therefore makes it possible to partially or completely replace the hydraulic network with an electrical network.
A “bleedless” device known from the prior art, shown in
The principle of operation of this device is as follows:
In the generator mode, the jet engine R drives the starter-generator SG in rotation, which produces 230-volt AC three-phase voltages with a variable frequency between 360 Hz and 900 Hz according to the engine power on the 230-volt AC distribution bar 10. This distribution bar is powered by means of a GLC contactor. This distribution bar 10 powers the TRU and ATU converters and the ATRU auto-transformer. The TUR converter produces a direct voltage of 28 DC volts on distribution bar 11 and the ATU converter transforms the 230 AC volts into 115 AC volts on the distribution bar 12. The ATRU auto-transformer transforms the 230 AC volts into +/−270 DC volts (540 DC volts of differential voltage) . The distribution bar +/−270 DC volts 13 is used by the MCU converter to control in torque and speed the ECS air compressor motor for providing air conditioning in the cabin.
In starter mode, the 115 AC volt distribution bar 12 is powered by a ground power unit GP at a fixed frequency 400 Hz and at a fixed voltage of 115 AC volts. The power-reversible ATU converter generates 230 AC volts powering the 230 AC volt distribution bar 10. This voltage is then converted into +/−270 DC volts by the ATRU auto-transformer on the distribution bar 13 in order to power the MCU converter. The MLC contactor is open, the SLC contactor is closed and the GLC contactor is open. The NSGC contactor (neutral) is open so as to prevent the common mode currents from developing and adversely affecting the thermal behaviour of the assembly. The SG generator is therefore powered by currents coming from the MCU converter, causing it to operate in engine mode so as to transmit the mechanical power to the jet engine R in order to ensure that it starts. The choice of high voltages, 230 AC volts and +/−270 DC volts, makes it possible, for a given power, to reduce the cross-section of the electrical cables so as to reduce their mass.
Such a device has the following disadvantages:
This invention is intended to overcome these various disadvantages by proposing a device for electrically starting a jet engine on board an aircraft that is lightweight and simplified.
The invention relates to a device for supplying electrical power to an aircraft and for electrically starting a jet engine on board an aircraft, for example an airplane, including a multi-phased starter-generator, a multi-phased transformer-rectifier, a multi-phased DC-AC converter, characterised in that it includes, in addition, a multi-phased rectifier, and at least one three-phase inverter, and in that the number of phases of the multi-phased starter-generator, the multi-phased transformer-rectifier, the multi-phased DC-AC converter, and the multi-phased rectifier is equal to or greater than 5.
The starter-generator advantageously generates a frequency between 800 Hz and 2 KHz.
The starter-generator advantageously includes a five-phase stator that comprises five phases dephased by 72° for two consecutive phases.
The device of the invention advantageously includes split power lines. The power lines do not comprise a neutral cable.
The multi-phased rectifier advantageously includes ten diodes.
The transformer-rectifier advantageously includes primary and secondary five-phase windings and ten diodes mounted on a full-wave rectifier.
The transformer-rectifier advantageously includes an output filter.
The DC-AC converter is advantageously a five-phase power-reversible inverter that can operate as a voltage inverter and rectifier.
Advantageously each three-phase inverter is a power and filtering inverter module.
The device of the invention has the following advantages:
The device of the invention, shown in
In generator mode, as shown in
In engine starting mode, as shown in
We will now more specifically analyse each of the characteristic elements of the device of the invention.
The Five-Phase Starter-Generator SG′
The starter-generator SG′ that produces the electrical energy has a construction very similar to the three-phase starter-generator shown in
In engine operation, the torque ripple frequency in five-phase mode goes to 10 times the power supply frequency, compared with only 6 times in three-phase mode. The increase in the number of poles and the number of phases allows for a significant improvement in the mean torque. The frequencies of operation of the device of the invention are in the range of 800 Hz to 2 KHz, which allows for a significant improvement in the mass while maintaining a good compromise between the mass of the starter-generator SG′ and the increase in the ferromagnetic losses caused by the increase in frequency. However, the use of higher frequencies (greater than 2 KHz) and a higher number of phases (greater than 5) is possible.
The Power Lines
Given the power generated by the starter-generator SG′ (in generator mode) in order to supply power to the air conditioning engine-compressor ECS and the electrical network, the power lines (“feeders”) can be “split” so as to preserve a current density in the cables compatible with their thermal limit.
In the device of the invention, insofar as the power is distributed over five phases instead of three, the power lines can be “split” only starting at a certain power limit, which makes it possible to spare a cable. Given that the cable gauges (various cable cross-sections) can be chosen only by “discrete values” in pre-established tables, the five-phase power lines can have a mass similar to that of the three-phase power lines.
In a comparative example, for a length of 25 metres, with a voltage of 230 AC volts, a power of 180 AC kilovolts at an ambient temperature of 100° C., it is possible to use:
The device of the invention assumes that no unbalanced or one-phase load is connected to the 230 AC volt network. Consequently, the neutral cable can be eliminated, and the common mode currents do not exist, which allows for a significant improvement in mass in an airplane in the carbon structure where the neutral cable is supposed to connect the starter-generator to the electrical core with significant distances. Similarly, thermal constraints in the starter-generator SG′ and the various converters associated with the presence of a homopolar current disappear. In the case of the example cited above, the reduction in mass due to the elimination of the neutral cable is greater than 4 kg.
The Five-phase Rectifier Unit RU
The five-phase rectifier unit RU includes ten diodes assembled two-by-two in series between two DV voltages −HVDC and +HVDC, as shown in
In a comparative example, it is possible to use:
The mean value of the rectified five-phase voltage is around +/−300 DC volts, i.e. 600 DC volts of differential voltage, by comparison with +/−270 DC volts, i.e. 540 DC volts of differential voltage in three phases, as shown in
The curves of
This presents an advantage in terms of mass on the sizing of the cables of the DC network, which are defined with smaller gauges in consideration of the reduction in intensity associated with the increase in the mean voltage.
In terms of the quality of the rectified voltage, the rectifier unit RU makes it possible to obtain better results on the residual voltage ripple because it operates at a minimum frequency of 800 Hz. Indeed, it generates a rectified voltage comprising ten pulses per period of 1.25 ms, which is to be compared with the 18 pulses per period of 2.8 ms of an ATRU converter at 360 Hz. The size of the associated filters can be slightly reduced.
The Five-Phase Transformer-rectifier Unit TRU′
The transformer-rectifier unit TRU′, as shown in
The Power-reversible Converter MCU′
The converter MCU′ is a five-phase power-reversible voltage inverter: two modes of operation are possible, the inverter mode and the rectifier mode. In an inverter operation, the converter MCU′ is used either to power the compressor engine ECS used to provide air conditioning in the cabin, or to power the starter-generator SG′ in engine mode in order to electrically start the jet engine R. In rectifier mode, the converter MCU′ can be used to generate a DC voltage, which is then used by another inverter MCU″ in inverter mode. This makes it possible for the same equipment to be reciprocal and, therefore to see an improvement in mass associated with the elimination of the ATU converter (conversion of 230 AC volts/115 AC volts) shown in
The Inverter for the 115 AC Volt Network INV
The conventional 115 AC volt electrical network is created from one or more power inverter INV and filtering modules adapted as needed or to the load that it powers. Such a solution makes it possible to provide a fixed frequency at the inverter output in order to power conventional loads such as asynchronous motors, furnaces or any other type of one-phase or three-phase equipment. It also allows for great flexibility because it is simply necessary to add an inverter module each time it is necessary, without being concerned about the network quality on the main 230 AC volt network at variable frequency or the +/−300 volt DC network. Thus, a family of inverter modules can be developed with a full range of powers as needed.
Foch, Etienne, Alejo, Dominique, Lando, Jean-Louis, Roboam, Xavier
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